Time for sari producers to rethink their target market

The increasing frequency of red-carpet appearances by the sari — draped on a series of glamorous western personalities — should allay fears that the reign of traditional Indian drape is all but wrapped up. Indeed, if the sari has been nudged out of the limelight in India thanks to the desi celebrities' penchant for western apparel and brands, it appears to be compensated by the concurrent surge in its popularity in the Occident, spreading beyond Liz Hurley and the non-resident Indian market. While the US First Lady Michelle Obama is yet to give a public airing to the Mysore silk sari — fine enough to fit into a matchbox, its makers aver — she was reportedly presented with in India, the British Prime Minister's wife Samantha Cameron turned up in a sari again this year for Diwali events in London, as did the female cast of one of Britain's most-watched TV serials, pointing to an emerging pan-British consensus on the six-yard wonder.

But it is the sight of a sari-swathed supermodel Naomi Campbell sweeping into a function in London that evidently has no connection with India that points to the fact that there is no getting round the Indian ensemble as a fashion must have. All it needs now is an endorsement by the Duchess of Cambridge. In any case, it is time for sari producers and marketers to rethink their target market and strategies.